


Breaking Up and Moving On

by Katybug1992



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Emotion Support Mitch, M/M, Mason is an asshole in this, Mitch is good at taking care of people, Past Unhealthy Relationship, not great coping mechanisms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:26:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22917685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katybug1992/pseuds/Katybug1992
Summary: Alexander gets his heart broken right before the trade and learns how to move on with some help.Zach catches feelings and Mitch is the only one of his teammates who is actually helpful.
Relationships: Alexander Kerfoot/Mason Plumlee (past), Mitch Marner/Auston Matthews (background), Zach Hyman/Alexander Kerfoot
Comments: 2
Kudos: 95





	Breaking Up and Moving On

The trade had not come at the best time for Alexander, like, literally the day after a two-year relationship ended. He knew that Josty had texted the group chat the night before to tell them that Alexander and Mason had broken up but knew that he didn’t give them anymore details. He got the call the next day and then before he knew it, he was moving into a spare bedroom in Tyson’s new house until he found an apartment. He found the box when Tyson and Morgan Rielly were working on unpacking the kitchen.

“I told him to throw this away.” Alexander didn’t realize he said that as loud as he did until Tyson and Morgan were standing in the doorway, looking at him in concern.

“Throw what away?” Tyson stepped slowly into the room.

“My Mason box.” Alexander didn’t look up.

“I’ll take care of it, okay?” Tyson gingerly took the box, “I got it.”

He gestured for Mo to follow him and the two went outside.

“Can you get the trunk for me?” Tyson asked softly.

“What’s in the box?”

“It’s his Mason box. Everything Mason ever gave him is in it. I’m guessing Josty thought Alexander might like to go through it when it stopped hurting.”

“Plumlee?” Mo asked, catching sight of the Nuggets jersey and hoodie.

“Yep. Two years. Then dumped out of nowhere.” Tyson’s jaw clenched as he shoved the box into the corner of his trunk and then covered it, “There’s more to it than that, but that’s all Josty told us. EJ thinks Kerfy will break soon...I’m just hoping he doesn’t shatter.”

“All you can do is be there for him, eh?”

“Easier said than done. So, until he’s ready, this box will be hidden in my car.”

And the other shoe dropped a couple days later. Alexander was in the kitchen, making a cup of tea, when Tyson got back to the house. 

“Hey,” Tyson greeted carefully, placing his keys in the bowl by the door and slipping off his shoes.

“Hey,” Alexander didn’t look over at him.

“Kerfy…” Tyson ran a hand through his hair, “Josty and JT keep texting me to check in on you, they say you aren’t responding to them. You’ve never ignored them. Talk to me. Please. I’m worried.”

“He cheated on me.” Alexander replied, voice so quiet Tyson could hardly hear him.

“He want?” Tyson’s eyebrows rose and he moved to prevent Alexander from being able to escape to his bedroom before he could continue.

“Mason cheated on me.” Alexander’s eyes shone with tears, “He had been cheating on me almost our entire relationship. TWO YEARS! His team knew, his family knew, she knew. Yeah, SHE knew. She’s the perfect basketball WAG. And I… I meant nothing to him.”

Tyson quickly caught him as he seemed to crumple completely, the sobs he had been holding back wracking his body. All Tyson could do was hold him as tight as he could and try to sooth the younger man. He would allow himself to be angry later, but right now Alexander was his top priority.

Tyson eventually was able to maneuver them to Alexander’s room and onto the bed, planning out his next move for when Kerf passed out. He knew he needed to let the guys know. Also, he was going to go through the Mason the box and send back anything that couldn’t be burned to EJ and have him deliver it to Plumlee personally. But that was for later. Right now, his main goal was to help hold Alexander together.

It only took another ten minutes for Kerfy to wear himself out and pass out, he definitely had not been sleeping well. Tyson waited another minute or so to make sure he was really out before slipping off of the bed and tucking Alexander in. Making his way back down the hall, he texted EJ, Gabe, and Nate to tell them to ask Josty and JT the REAL reason Mason and Alexander broke up and then to text him when they knew.

He then went out to his car and pulled the box out. He grabbed all the clothing items out and set them aside and instantly knew that Alexander would need to go through the rest of it. There was too much. His phone chimed and he saw a text from Josty saying that a couple of Mason boxes got mixed in with his stuff and that EJ was going to return them in person. The whole of the Avs would know now. And maybe EJ shouldn’t return the boxes because he had a mean streak that got worse when someone he cared about was hurting. But Alexander now had more than just two people who he could talk to.

Picking up his phone, he found the contact he was looking for, “Hey, Mo. Wanna come over tonight? We’re having a bit of a bonfire. Invite some of the guys if you want.”

“I’ll pick up food.”

“You don’t have to. I’m hosting.”

“And something tells me you don’t really want to leave Alexander right now.”

“Thanks.”

“Everything okay?”

“Not really.”

“You sure having people over will help?”

“It’ll distract him.”

“If you say so.”

Alexander slept for a couple more hours before stumbling down the hall and stopping at the sight of The Box.

“I thought you threw that away.” Alexander’s voice was soft.

“I was going to, but I had a better idea once I looked at it.” Tyson shrugged, “We’re going to burn some of it and send the rest back to Denver, to EJ. Josty found two more Mason boxes in his apartment that EJ volunteered to return.”

“I can just ship it to -”

“Oh, no, EJ really wants this.”

Alexander huffed out a laugh and grabbed the box, taking it to the living room and sitting down on the floor.

“Take out anything you want to burn.” Tyson instructed, “We’re having a little bonfire tonight, meeting some of our new teammates. Everything else, I’ll send to EJ.”

“Sit with me?” Alexander asked, sounding unsure.

Tyson didn’t say anything, just sat down on the floor next to him as they sorted through part of the last two years of Alexander’s life. In the burn pile were pictures, notes, a stuffed animal, and clothing items. All that was left were little trinkets and Tyson was putting it in his room so he could transfer them to one of the smaller boxes before he mailed it.

When he re-emerged, Alexander was making a fresh cup of tea, dressed in a pair of Harvard sweatpants and a t-shirt that was definitely either Josty’s or JT’s.

“What would they do?” Tyson asked, leaning against the counter.

“What?”

“JT, Josty. What would they do to try to make you feel better?”

“Whenever Mason cancelled or blew me off or we were fighting, they would put me in the car and we would drive up to Golden Gate and hike to Panorama Point. It would give me something to focus on besides how shitty my boyfriend was acting.”

“I’ll look into difficult hikes around here. Maybe Mo knows of something.”

“You think you can keep up with me?” Alexander asks and it startles a relieved laugh out of Tyson, the first bit of the Alexander he was used to that he’s seen since the trade.

They already have the fire going when Morgan arrives with the food and drinks, Alexander curled up in one of the adirondack chairs and cradling his tea. Tyson let him take over the grill. In fact, he pointedly does not go near the thing so Morgan doesn’t get any ideas about Tyson wanting to be the one to cook the food. Instead, Tyson went inside and grabbed the Burn Box.

“You get first toss.” Tyson grinned, holding the box out to Alexander, who had (in true Kerfy fashion) organized the box by priority, “I vote for the jersey first.”

Alexander laughed and Tyson beamed proudly at the sound and dragged Alexander out of the chair. He did end up unfolding himself and standing up, grabbing the jersey from the top of the box. He noticed Morgan studiously ignoring them and continuing to ignore them as they threw everything else in the Burn Box into the fire. Tyson sat the box down and pulled Alexander to him, holding the younger male as they watched the past two years of Alexander’s life burn. Finally, Alexander pulled away and Tyson nudged him inside to change.

“Everyone knows you went to Harvard,” Tyson called after him, “No need to show it off.”

He cackled as Alexander flipped him off before turning his attention to Morgan to see what he knew about any insane hiking trails and if there was anyone on the team insane enough to go with Alexander or if he would need to go (this would not be ideal but he would do it if it made Alexander feel better).

“Don’t get me wrong,” Tyson held his hands up, “Panorama Point is beautiful. But why go through four miles of hell hiking up to the thing when you can drive?”

Mo just laughed in response. 

Alexander returned in jeans and a t-shirt, looking like he was making an effort to look presentable and put together, before curling back up in his chair again and clutching his mug tightly, eyes focused on the fire. Tyson sighed, seeing Alexander getting lost in his own head again.

Before he could say anything, the gate to the backyard opened and Mitch Marner bounced through, chattering excitedly to Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman, subtly herding Hyman over to the chairs and getting him into the one next to Alexander without Hyman seemingly noticing that he was being helped. And Tyson watched as Alexander’s mask fell into place perfectly.

“He okay?” Mo asked, following Tyson’s gaze.

“Probably not,” Tyson responded honestly, “but he’s not going to show it. That’s a mask that only Josty and JT could break through.”

“He needs time.” Morgan replied after a beat.

“And distraction.” Tyson nodded.

“And booze.”

Tyson laughed, “Well, you pry the tea from him and we’ll see about that.”

The night was, in Tyson’s opinion, a success. Marner had gotten Alexander to uncurl from himself and interact with people (all while not seeming like he was trying. Mo said it was superpower of Mitch’s). Currently, Tyson could see Alexander and Hyman were completely engrossed in a conversation about a topic that was probably way above his understanding.

“Zach finally found someone who understands him on an intellectual level.” Mo smiled, watching the complete look a awe grow across Zach’s face.

“Same with Kerf.” Tyson huffed out a laugh.

“Matty!” Mo snapped, Tyson turned to face the direction Mo was looking to see that Matthews had pulled Marner down onto his lap, “You are in a public space.”

“We weren’t doing anything.” Auston responded as Mitch giggled and hid his face in Auston’s neck.

“Sure you weren’t.” Mo rolled his eyes before deciding he needed to get Tyson up to date on team gossip before he walked in on anything.

Turns out, Tyson didn’t have to worry about doing an insane hike (thank God) because Mitch had apparently decided to adopt Kerf and took it upon himself to show him everything Toronto had to offer. And neither Alexander nor Tyson noticed until they were sitting down to dinner a couple weeks later and Alexander got a glance at the box that was ready to be shipped to EJ.

“I’m dropping it off at the post office tomorrow.” Tyson immediately responded when he noticed what Alexander was looking at.

“I’m fine.” Alexander smiled slightly, “I just realized...I haven’t actually had the time to wallow since the BBQ.”

“You haven’t been around much since then.” Tyson nodded, trying to think back to the last time Alexander had spent the entire day at the house, “Mitchy keeping you busy?”

“Partly. He’s taken it upon himself to be my tour guide and show me all the best parts of the city. Auston or Willy usually tag along. But I’ve also been spending a lot of time at Zach’s, just keeping him company. Willy was surprised. Apparently, Zach usually likes to ‘brood alone’ when he’s hurt.”

Tyson was prevented from commenting further on that by the glare Alexander sent him. So he just smirked down at his plate and promised himself he would text Gabe about this latest development. And maybe he would need to talk to Zach.

There were three people that Zach talked to about everything: Mitchy, Willy, and Matty. The three-headed monster. The future of the Leafs. His future Captains. So when Zach realized he had caught feelings for Alexander, he took two seconds to think before sending an urgent SOS to Mitch (because Auston and Feelings didn’t tend to mix well - it took him the entirity of their rookie year before he realized that he didn’t just want to fuck Mitch, then Willy decided that the best way to help Matty was to get him wasted and then send him over to Mitch’s...which is why he didn’t send the SOS to Willy). 

Mitch was always the one who was most intune with everyone’s emotions. He was their emotional support. Some teams had dogs, the Leafs had Mitch Marner. Mitch Marner who was so good at reading people that as soon as he was in the door, there was a pint of ice cream in Zach’s lap before he realized what was happening (Mitch was also good at Stealthy Caretaking).

“You have a crush on Kerf.” Mitchy stated (because, of course, he knew already and he assured Zach that no one else knew), digging into his own pint of Cherry Garcia.

“He’s just out of a long-term relationship.” Zach attempted to defend the SOS designation of his text.

“Duh,” Mitch rolled his eyes because - of course - he knew the story. Though he probably got it from someone in Colorado because he somehow had friends everywhere… or Barrie. Zach had learned the story from Alexander while being taught how to make a proper cup of tea.

“Mitch, that’s kind of an issue!”

“Then wait for him to be ready. Trust me, you’ll know when that is.”

“That’s easy for you to say. We all knew Matts was head over heels for you before he knew. I don’t know what Alexander -”

“Dude, he’s been putting up with your broody-sourpuss mood for the past few weeks. I think he likes you enough.”

“I haven’t been broody OR sour.” 

“Not with Alex.”

“He prefers Alexander.”

Mitch just smirked a little at the correction.

“Shut up.” Zach groaned, head falling back against the couch and flipping Mitch off as the younger male started laughing before rummaging around in his kitchen, “I’m having a crisis.”

“Surely you’ve had crushes on teammates before.” Mitch responded, shoving a gatorade in Zach’s hand and pulling up the number to Zach’s favorite Chinese place.

Zach decided to wait to argue until after Mitch placed their order, that way Mitch didn’t “accidentally” order him a dish from the Tofu menu. He’d seen him do that in retaliation to both Matty and Willy (on multiple occasions because it tended to take a couple times before things sunk in - Matty had gotten better since that behavior had almost lost him Mitch).

“So, is it just that he’s getting out of a two-year relationship?” Mitch settled on the couch after placing the order.

“It’s that he didn’t know he was the side-piece for two years, it’s that his ex completely humiliated him, it’s that he’s bound to have trust issues. It’s that he’s been treated pretty shitty by someone he thought of as his first real boyfriend. I doubt he’s going to be ready to jump into a new relationship anytime soon.”

“You could always ease him into it.” Mitch shrugged, “Do you know how often I have to ease Auston into one feeling?”

Zach couldn’t help the laugh, “Alexander is not as bad Matty.”

“No one is as bad as Matty.” Mitch rolled his eyes, “But he’s my burden.”

Zach just shook his head with a smile, observing as Mitch subtly tidied up, “I know what you’re doing.”

“No, you don’t.” Mitch just quipped back as he casually flipped through the book Zach had just finished before putting it back on the bookshelf as he headed back into Zach’s kitchen to put his ice cream back in the freezer (while checking to see if Zach might need anything picked up). 

Zach shook his head but let Mitch do his thing. Letting Mitch take care of them was really the only way they could return the favor. It didn’t mean he had to like it and Zach promised himself he would put up a little bit of a fight...just so Mitchy didn’t think he had worn him down as much as he had Willy, Kappy, and Matty (Kappy didn’t even bother pretending to put up a fight anymore, Willy whined but definitely soaked up the attention, and Mitch could do literally anything and Auston would like at him like he was the sun).

So Zach pretended he didn’t know Mitch was making a mental list. And he pretended to believe Mitch when he said Willy was dropping some stuff off for him since Auston was busy and Mitch wouldn’t have time to go to the store before meeting Auston for dinner when Willy arrived with bags containing the list that Mitch had obviously sent to him.

“So, what’s your crisis now?” Willy asked, flinging himself down onto the armchair, “Realize that you have a massive crush on Kerfoot?”

“It’s not massive.” Zach pouted.

“It’s big enough that you sent an SOS.” Mitch shot back from where he was putting the groceries away, “You’re not Willy. You don’t send me an SOS because you can’t find your hairbrush.”

“That was one time.” Willy sniffed, full on pouting in Mitchy’s direction like it was going to do anything. When he didn’t get a response from Mitch, he turned back to Zach, “So, what are you going to do about your little crush.”

“Get over it.” Zach huffed.

“No, you’re not.” Mitch responded, re-emerging from the kitchen, sitting down on the couch as Zach takes a page from Willy’s handbook and falls dramatically sideways, head landing in Mitch’s lap. Mitch brings a hand up and starts running it through Zach’s hair and Zach really hopes Auston doesn’t show up next because he doesn’t want Mitch to stop. He loves Matty, but Matty is not great at sharing Mitch’s attention. It’s not a major problem, but it’s one that he’s just gonna let Willy handle.

“He’s just...he’s so smart, and nice, and easy to talk to…” Zach whined, letting himself fully channel Willy after his dramatic flop into Mitch’s lap.

“And he obviously thinks the same of you.” Mitch smiled fondly down at Zach.

“How do you know?” Zach mumbled with absolutely no hint of whining (shut up, Willy).

“Because you’re amazing, Hyms.” Mitch stopped running his hand through Zach’s hair, face turning serious, “And you’re everything Alexander needs in a next boyfriend. I was talking to Mo, who was told by Bear that none of the Avs guys ever like Plumlee. They all thought he was an asshole but Alexander was happy so they didn’t press it. His roommates were the ones who saw the worst of how that relationship made him feel, so Tyson doesn’t know all the details. But, when he gets to the point where he is ready to move on - not rebound, actually move on - then I think you’re the best choice. Tyson was, apparently, a little surprised at how quickly he bonded with you. You two would be good together. And you’ll know when he’s ready. Because you’re pretty smart yourself. In the meantime, show that you’re boyfriend material. Just...keep doing what you’re doing.”

“What Mitchy said.” Willy added unhelpfully, earning himself an annoyed look from Mitch that was way too endearing and was only ever sent to him and Matty and preened.

“Now, your kitchen is fully stocked back up and I have to go change.” Mitch prompted Zach to lift his head so he could get up, “Matts is taking me out tonight and won’t tell me where. Just said no jeans with holes in them, like he has any room to talk.”

“Don’t get knocked up!” Willy called from his spot as Mitch headed toward the door, getting flipped off in response and cackling.

“You need to head out?” Zach asked, looking over at the blonde.

“Nah,” Willy kicked his feet up onto the coffee table, “Mitchy told me to hang with you tonight, make sure you didn’t go back to brooding.”

“I wasn’t brooding!”

“Sure, bud.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

“Mitchy didn’t leave you here to annoy me.”

“Well, Mitchy’s not here right now. And twenty bucks says that he and Matts don’t even make it out of the apartment tonight.”

“I really didn’t want to think about that.”

“You’ve seen it enough times.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“In all seriousness….listen to Mitchy. He's kind of a secret genius about some things and feelings are one of them.”

“Well...he got Matts to admit to a feeling so…”

“And several feelings since then.”

Zach chucked a pillow at him.

The Raptors game that the Leafs are to attend together happens to be when the Nuggets are in town, later into the season than usual - which Zach is fine with, happy to have the boot off and to be playing again. Mo breaks the news to Alexander, who doesn’t look too upset but definitely doesn’t emote what he’s thinking. They show up together, Alexander wearing a Rapters’ t-shirt Mo had thrown at his head as he got in the car and jeans that kind of made Zach’s brain stop functioning for a minute until Matty snorted, Willy elbowed him, and Mitchy chided both of them with an amused smile because he was the best and took care of everyone but he also had a bit of gremlin in him as well (Zach blamed Willy).

And Alexander seemed to be doing okay. He was laughing, smiling, and talking to Zach about book ideas and planning a museum trip on their next off day.. Until they headed to the locker room for their meet up with the Raptors and Plumlee and a couple of the other Nuggets stepped out of the Visitor’s locker room.

“Alex,” Plumlee grinned broadly as Alexander froze, Tyson immediately moving to his side.

“Mason,” Alexander responded, voice hard and eyes cold (the way Zach had only seen when he was getting pissed off during a game) as he walked over to his ex.

“I was hoping to see you while we were here.” Mason smiled, running a hand down Alexander’s arm and Mo had to grab Tyson to keep him from charging over and hiding Alexander away.

“I was, too, actually,” Alexander’s response surprised his teammates, Tyson freezing as he eyebrows shot up, “I know EJ hand delivered a couple boxes to you -”

“He didn’t need to do that. You could have kept it all.”

“I didn’t want it.” Alexander shot back, “There was something I didn’t include because I wanted to wait until I was over you to give it back. Because I knew if I could give it back, then I really was over you. So, here. Your empty promise.”

Alexander pulled a small black box from his pocket and thrust it out to Mason, “I’m over you. You can give this to Jenny.”

“Her name’s Janiey and she already has one.” Mason didn’t move to take the box, “She and I talked and we decided that what would be best is for you and I to stay together. I’ll split time. You can spend off-season with us. Help raise kids. We’d be a family.”

Zach had never seen Alexander look as pissed and offended as he did in that moment. And he had been there when JT had made the objectively true observation that Yale was doing better than Harvard in athletics this year. Mo had to tighten his grip on Tyson and Mitch was in damage control mode, eyes flicking over each of his teammates for signs of who he needed to jump in front of first.

“What the fuck?” Alexander’s voice was hard, eyes narrowed.

“We think it would be good for our relationship. Ever since you ended things, Janiey and I have been fighting almost non-stop. She doesn’t let me fuck her the way you did, not nearly as kinky, doesn’t let me completely dominate her. She’s wife material, but we both decided that for us to get there, then I still need you.”

“Fuck you!” Alexander hissed, turning to walk away.

“Alex.” Mason grabbed his arm, “You don’t want to embarrass me in front of my teammates do you?”

“Like you embarrassed me in front of mine?” Alexander’s eyes flashed and Willy genuinely looked terrified (almost as terrified as he looked when Mitch got angry, like actually angry), “Like you humiliated me in front of your teammates?”

And Plumlee towered over Alexander and Mo’s grip on Tyson lessened just enough because Alexander was sturdy and built, but he was still small and his ex could do some damage if given the chance.

“You don’t get to just decide that I’m going to be your side-piece forever. If Janiey wants you to have someone on the side, then find someone else. I’m done.”

Alexander yanked himself out of Plumlee’s grip and started back over to his teammates, throwing over his shoulder, “And don’t ever call me ‘Alex’ again.”

Tyson grabbed him as soon as he was close enough, ushering him further down the corridor and letting the Leafs surround them.

“You okay, Kerf?” Tyson asked carefully, searching Alexander’s face.

“I’m a little pissed off, but I’m okay.” Alexander responded, “Can you believe him?”

Tyson looked like he wasn’t buying it but decided to at least pretend to until Alexander was ready, “He’s an idiot.”

Alexander looked so grateful that Tyson didn’t press it and Tyson pulled him in close, “You let me know when I can punch his dumb face.”

“You wouldn’t be able to reach it.” Alexander gave a small grin.

“I can punch him in the stomach and kick the shit out of shins then.”

Alexander laughed, hugging Tyson as the team stopped in front of the Home Locker Room, “Thank you.”

“Anytime,” Tyson smiled, looking over at where Zach was trying very hard not to focus his attention on Alexander, Tyson nudged him in that direction, “Go on. Mitchy looks very eager to do his own check in with you.”

Alexander rolled his eyes but did head over to them. Mitchy gave him a once over before focusing on his face, nodding after a minute and then bouncing off and dragging Auston with him. Willy followed after receiving a look from Mitch, rolling his eyes and heading over to Kappy.

“You okay?” Zach asked softly.

“I think I am.” Alexander nodded, “I mean, I don’t like that Mason basically just asked me to spend the rest of my life as his whore, but I don’t feel broken anymore.”

“Good. Because you can do so much better than that asshole.”

Alexander smiled and Zach grinned in return because Alexander had a really nice smile and Zach loved being the one causing it.

They met the home team, took the picture, and then headed into the arena to take their courtside seats. Alexander’s hands were stuffed into his pockets and he looked like he was trying not to show that he was cold (Tyson or Mo had probably told him to bring a jacket and he was nothing if not stubborn). So Zach shrugged off his hoodie and handed it over to Alexander, turning his head to hide his please smirk when his offer was accepted and Alexander slipped the hoodie on, hiding his own smile.

“You should take him skating for your first date.” Auston suggested, making Zach jump out of skin and snap his attention from watching Alexander walking away with Mo (more being dragged to concessions by Mo).

“We play hockey for a living.” Zach responded flatly, “We probably spend more time on ice than off it.”

“That’s what Mitchy said when I took him.” Auston had that stupid little smile that Zach would fine him for if he wasn’t a good person, “But going out on the ice, with just him, no pressure of any kind and just skating? It was nice.”

“Auston Matthews...are you emoting right now?” Zach grinned over at him, which earned him a scowl and a shove.

“Fine, I won’t help you.” Auston huffed.

“I don’t need help.”

“Willy says you do.”

“Willy needs to mind his own business.”

“Mitchy thinks you can handle this on your own.”

“Mitchy’s right.”

“But I think you’re overthinking your first move.”

“You took a full season to realize you were in love with Mitch, so I don’t think I’ll be taking advice from you about relationships.”

“I don’t do well with emotions.”

“Exactly.”

“But I’m not blind. He looks at you when he thinks you’re not looking the same way you look at him when you think he’s not looking.”

Zach didn’t respond, just turned his attention to warm-ups until Alexander was standing next to him again. He didn’t even think about it as he pulled his phone out and snapped a selfie of them, both of them grinning widely at the camera.

“We look cute.” Alexander grinned, looking at the photo.

“Yeah.” Zach breathed out, before they did look cute. And he was never deleting this picture and didn’t hesitate to upload it onto his Insta with the caption “Showing the new guys what a REAL basketball team looks like”. He added a picture of the warm-ups as well and ignored the snort from Willy, who had obviously just seen the post.

Alexander smirked up at him and hooked their arms together, leaning against him and Zach couldn’t help the dumb grin that spread across his face.

“Would you…” Zach trailed off.

“Would I what?” Alexander asked, pulling away just enough to look at him.

“Would you like to go get dinner sometime? Just us?” 

“I would like that.”

“To clarify,” Willy popped his head between them, “he is asking you on a date.”

“Willy!” Zach’s scandalized-offended tone joined Mitch’s scolding one.

“I got that, Willy,” Alexander smiled at the blond, “but thank you for your help.”

“Just wanted to make sure.” Willy grinned, “He can be kind of -”

“Thank you, Willy!” Zach cut him off, “Why don’t you go bug Matty and Mitchy?”

“Because bugging you is so much more fun.”

“Willy!” Mitch hissed as Auston tried to contain his laughter.

Willy flashed Zach another shiteating grin before bouncing over to Kappy, Zach blushing darkly at the amused look on Alexander’s face.

“He means well.” Alexander tucked himself next to Zach.

Zach smiled goofily as Kappy gagged, glaring at him as he said, “That’s a fine.”

And Zach would add it to the jar at practice tomorrow. He was probably going to find himself fined a couple more times tonight anyway.

“Where were you thinking about taking me?” Alexander asked, eyes following the game that had just started.

“There’s a divey place I was thinking. Maybe dropping by one of the outdoor rinks?”

“Sounds perfect.” 

“Really? You don’t think we spend enough time on ice skates?”

“I can’t hold your hand during practice or games.”

Zach felt the goofy smile spread again. There would be time to stress over the actual planning of the date, time for him to melt down and ask for help and then actually get the help from Mitchy while Willy and Auston mocked him. There would be time to worry about the season. But for tonight, he would enjoy the basketball, surrounded by his teammates, with a cute boy tucked under his arm.


End file.
